Series consists of Ted Allan's business and personal correspondence. The correspondence documents his early work in journalism; the publication of his short stories and his biography, with Sydney Gordon, of Norman Bethune, "The Scalpel, the Sword"; his radio work, including radio plays, short stories, and mental health programmes for the CBC; his television work, including his adaptations of John Dickson Carr's books; his early efforts to get into film and his later successful film projects, including "Lies My Father Told Me" and "Bethune: the Making of a Hero"; his move to England in 1954 and his work for the stage there, in Europe and North America. There is extensive correspondence with his agents, William Morris and Margery Vosper, and with the CBC (including with Robert Weaver, Esse Ljungh, John Hirsch, and others); with publishers (including Jack McClelland); with theatre producers and directors; with other writers (including other Canadians trying to get produced in England); and with friends in the business. Contracts and agreements are filed among the correspondence, along with some other financial records relating to theatre productions. Copies of Allan's replies are interfiled with the in-coming correspondence.
Among Allan's correspondents are the following: Archibald MacLeish, 1942; Mark Van Doren, 1945; Martin Kastner, Export Publishing Enterprises, 1949; Uta Hagen, 1949-1960, 1978; Ruth Berlau, Elizabeth Hauptmann, Helene Weigel, and Carl Weber of the Berliner Ensemble, 1949-1959; Hugh Garner, 1949; D. Ewen Cameron, Paul L'Anglais, 1950; John Sutherland, Hans Selye, Robert Anderson, Roger Lemelin, W.O. Mitchell, Mac Shoub, Marius Barbeau, Vincent Massey, Lionel Massey, 1951; Sydney Gordon, Andrew Allan, 1952; Sam Wanamaker, 1952-1957; Miguel Prados, 1952-1960; Florence and Mordecai Richler, 1952-1959, 1972; Lorne Greene, 1953-1957, 1970; Roger MacDougall, 1953-1960, 1970-1976; Elwy Yost, 1953; Richard Attenborough, 1954; Peter Ustinov, Charles Israel, 1954-1955; Florence James, 1954-1956; Wilder Penfield, 1954-1957; Nathan Cohen, 1954-1957, 1970; Arthur Hiller, 1954, 1995; Anne Davidson, Stanley Mann, 1955; Tess and Kryn Taconis, 1955-1956; John Coulter, 1955-1957; Barrie Stavis, 1955-1960; Janet and Lou Brandt, 1955-1961; Silvio Narizzano, 1956; Oscar Lewenstein, 1956-1960, 1985, 1992; Len Peterson, Max Ferguson; Donald Davis, Anna Magnani, 1957; Joseph Losey, 1957-1961; Bernard Braden, 1957, 1977, 1992; and Earl Robinson, 1959-1960.
Other correspondents include: Emmet Dalton, Lionel Bart, Tony Richardson, Leonard White, Dick Francis, Michael Langham, Sydney Newman, 1960; Robert Whitehead, 1960, 1972; Edna O'Brien, 1960-1975; Zero Mostel, 1961-1962; Sam Shaw, 1961-1970; Ghitta Caiserman-Roth, Doris Lessing, Hope Abelson, Lucio Agostino, 1961; Rod Steiger, Georges Soria, Farley Mowat, 1962; Donald Brittain, 1964; Jill Bennett, 1969-1970; Jane Fonda, Hazen Sise, 1970; Harry Gulkin, 1970-1973; Henning Sorenson, 1971; John Kemeny, 1971-1976; Sean Connery, 1972; Al Waxman, 1972-1975; Jan Kadar, 1973; Dick Williams, 1975; Walter Mathau, 1976; Norman Jewison, 1979, 1993; Shirley Knight, Diana Cooper 1980; John Cassavetes, 1981; Lou Applebaum, John Houseman, 1983; Dora Wasserman, Ken Mitchell, 1984; William Weintraub, 1985; and Atom Egoyan, 1993.
Additional material includes nominal and subject files of correspondence created by Allan, interfiled with chronological files. Included are nominal files of correspondence with British theatre producer Oscar Lewenstein, authors Mordecai Richler and Edna O'Brien, Ted Allan's collaborator Roger MacDougall, actors Shirley MacLaine, Barbra Streisand, Donald Sutherland and Christopher Plummer, director John Berry, composer and comedian Steve Allen, and publisher Jack McClelland, among others. There is also a file of copies of letters concerning the reclusive author B. Traven (H. Croves), whose work Ted Allan adapted for television (including copies of letters from him - location of the originals is unknown); a file of correspondence with Ted Allan's literary agents; a file regarding the Memorial Fund for the Mackenzie-Papineau Brigade; and a file of correspondence with the American novelist and war journalist Martha Gellhorn, 1982, 1992-1993.
The additional material includes documentation on Ted Allan's work for the CBC and on his company, Ted Allan Productions. Chronological files include letters from H.M. Caiserman 1949; E.L. Bushnell 1954; Sydney Newman, Robert Allen 1954-1955; Robert Weaver 1954-1955, 1982; Silvio Narrizzano 1955; George Salverson 1956; Nathan Cohen 1956-1965; Arnold Wesker 1958; Zero Mostel, J.P. Donleavy, Mordecai Richler, Joris Ivens, Rose Kastner, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh 1959; Edna O'Brien 1959-1962; Gabriel Arout 1959, 1963-1964; Bernard and Barbara Braden 1959, 1963, 1984; John Berry 1959-1965; Sam Shaw 1960/1961; Janet B.randt, Oscar Lewenstein, H. Croves (B. Traven) 1961; Roger MacDougall 1961-1963, 1979/1980; Jack McClelland 1961-1965; Murray Davis 1962; Lucio Agostino 1962-1964; Rod Steiger 1962, 1965 (incl. 2 als and 1 tls); Donald Brittain, Kenneth Tynan, Peter [Hall], Lindsay Anderson, Esse Ljungh 1963; Bill Freedman 1963/1964; Kryn Taconis, Wolf Mankowitz 1964; Robert Bolt [1964]; Anthony Quinn 1964-1965 (including a letter on `The Centurions' letterhead); Carl Foreman, John Kemeny 1965; Quentin Blake, Peter Coe 1980; David Bolt 1982; Harry Gulkin, Dora Wasserman, Ken Mitchell, Steve Allen, Lou Applebaum 1983; Harry Mayerovitch 1986; Peter Pearson 1987; David Lewis Stein, Bob Schiller 1988; Brian Fawcett 1989; among others. Also among the letters are an unsigned letter 1960 describing the filming of ["One-Eyed Jacks"] with Marlon Brando; postcards sent by Ted Allan to his family while he visited China 1958, 1975-1979; and correspondence with the Central Film Bureau in China 1958.
